Friday, November 9, 2012

Rats Deserting A Sinking Ship

Rats Deserting A Sinking Ship

David Petraeus, the man at the helm of the CAI, the
nation's largest intelligence agency, stepped down as director on
Friday 9 November 2012, saying he had an extramarital affair.
The resignation comes at a difficult time for the agency and
Obama administration, which has been under intense scrutiny from
Republican lawmakers for the September attack on a U.S. facility in
Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans -- including the Ambassador
Christopher Stevens and two CIA contractors -- dead.

Petraeus
and other top U.S. intelligence officials were scheduled to speak next
week at a closed-door session of the Senate Intelligence Committee
about the Benghazi incident as well as intelligence and security in
the region. . Petraeus gave the orders that sent a CIA team flying
into Benghazi in a vain attempt to rescue Americans. Two members of
that team were killed on that mission.

His reputation was potentially tarnished by the controversy
over the terror attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, that
killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in
September.
Some Republicans have privately said they were disappointed in Petraeus for sticking as long as he did to the initial intelligence assessment that the attack erupted from a spontaneous protest against an anti-Islam video on the Web.

For many weeks the White House had come under intense pressure for the attack, before it finally emerged that the CIA had actually played a central role
in the episode. Two of the Americans killed were identified as
undercover agents for the CIA, and the vast majority of Americans on the
ground that night turned out to be with the agency.
In a Wall Street Journal article
a week before the election, several administration officials pointed to
Petraeus specifically and accused him of mishandling the controversy,
by appearing to be aloof and delivering misinformation to the White
House in the early days after that attacks.
Congress intends to continue to investigate the incident.Petraeus was expected to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee next week on the Benghazi attack.

Petraeus took over as head of the CIA in September of 2011 following his tour as head of allied forces in Afghanistan.
His sudden resignation came as a surprise, just days after President Barack Obama won a second term.

The resignation comes at a sensitive time. The administration and the
CIA have struggled to defend security and intelligence lapses before the
attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three others. It
was an issue during the presidential campaign that ended with Obama's
re-election Tuesday.

The CIA has come under intense scrutiny for
providing the White House and other administration officials with
talking points that led them to say the Benghazi attack was a result of a
film protest, not a militant terror attack. It has become clear that
the CIA was aware the attack was distinct from the film protests roiling
across other parts of the Muslim world.

The CIA director's bombshell took former military colleagues by surprise.

In addition to Petraeus, two other top-level administration officials, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, are also expected to soon leave the Obama administration.
Attorney General Eric Holder said on Thursday 8 November he's also weighing whether he will remain for Obama's second term.

Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, lauded Petraeus as a "true American patriot."
Petraeus and his wife, Holly, live in Virginia. He has been married for 38 years to Holly Petraeus, whom he met when he
was a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. She was the
daughter of the academy superintendent. They have two children, and
their son led an infantry platoon in Afghanistan.

Here is the full text of Petraeus' letter:

HEADQUARTERS Central Intelligence Agency

9 November 2012
Yesterday afternoon, I went to the White House and asked the President
to be allowed, for personal reasons, to resign from my position as
D/CIA. After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor
judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair. Such behavior is
unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization
such as ours. This afternoon, the President graciously accepted my
resignation.
As I depart Langley, I want you to know that it has been the greatest
of privileges to have served with you, the officers of our Nation's
Silent Service, a work force that is truly exceptional in every regard.
Indeed, you did extraordinary work on a host of critical missions
during my time as director, and I am deeply grateful to you for that.

Teddy Roosevelt once observed that life's greatest gift is the
opportunity to work hard at work worth doing. I will always treasure my
opportunity to have done that with you and I will always regret the
circumstances that brought that work with you to an end.
Thank you for your extraordinary service to our country, and best
wishes for continued success in the important endeavors that lie ahead
for our country and our Agency.
With admiration and appreciation,
David H. Petraeus

2 comments:

For the director of the CIA, being engaged in an extramarital affair is considered a serious breach of security and a counterintelligence threat. If a foreign government had learned of the affair, the reasoning goes, Petraeus or the person with whom he was involved could have been blackmailed or otherwise compromised.

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